Following a pre-trial hearing, Rochester City Court Judge Ellen Yacknin agreed with defense counsel (ETKS associate Danielle Wild) that law enforcement had no lawful basis to detain, let alone arrest, the defendant. In a decision issued August 31st, Judge Yacknin wrote,
“Sergeant Leckinger lacked the reasonable suspicion of criminality necessary to forcibly detain defendant when he did so. Accordingly, any evidence that the police seized or observed as a result of defendant’s unlawful detention, including defendant’s statements to the police, must be suppressed. . . . The resisting arrest charge lodged against him must be dismissed.”
Read the decision (2016 NY Slip Op 51259[U] [Aug. 31, 2016]) here (Justia) or here (NYLJ) and the Daily Record article on the decision here. (Note: Subscription needed to read the Daily Record.)
